What is it about?
Tatars were among the first migrants to Saint Petersburg at the beginning of the eighteenth century. Some participated in the building of the city and its fortresses, while others were peasants or townspeople from the provinces who were attracted by the economic possibilities in the new capital of the Russian empire. Tatars were engaged in petty trade and later also established restaurants and slaughterhouses for horse meat. They formed congregations and cultural associations, built a Cathedral Mosque and arranged a Tatar Muslim cemetery. Saint Petersburg became at the end of the nineteenth century also a centre for Mishär Tatar activities. Many of them migrated to the Baltic Sea region and especially Finland, where they remained after 1918, while Tatars from other parts of the country moved to Saint Petersburg during Soviet times. The history of Tatars in Saint Petersburg is discussed extensively in this chapter.
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Why is it important?
Tatar migration to and from Saint Petersburg had been little documented before this study. Several Tatar communities were established during the two hundred years the city was capital of the Russian empire. Their history, influence and contributions to the multilingual and multicultural city are important to study, as Tatars have been present from the very beginning until today as an integral part of the population. Minorities have often been ignored, but it is crucial to review and acknowledge their part in the history of both this city and in the country as a whole.
Perspectives
Through the Tatars in Saint Petersburg, we can discover many new aspects of a multicultural city and how it functioned, how relations between Tatars themselves as a minority and between Tatars and other groups developed, and how much Tatars influenced the formation both physically and mentally of the city during different periods. Further, without Saint Petersburg as an important hub for Tatar job seekers from provincial villages, the migration to Finland, Estonia and other Baltic Sea countries cannot be understood.
Dr. Sabira Ståhlberg
Independent Scholar
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Saint Petersburg, January 2016, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004308800_005.
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